DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

August 19, 2026August 17, 2026

Random DNA Mutations

In the 1960s, Japanese biologist Motoo Kimura introduced the neutral theory of molecular evolution. It advanced the idea that most random DNA mutations are not driven by survival of the fittest but by pure chance. Now a team of scientists at the University of Michigan has published a new study saying that beneficial mutations arise more frequently than Kimura had believed. However, they say that a changing environment often prevents those mutations from spreading through an entire population. In other words, environments change more quickly than mutations can spread through populations.

Random DNA mutations arise by chance, and natural selection removes the unhelpful ones. The new study determined that only 1% of amino acid mutations are beneficial. That doesn’t sound like a very big percentage, but it is larger than what Kimura suggested. Even then, those mutations don’t spread to the entire population of a species.

To conduct this study, researchers at the University of Michigan used yeast cells, which live for only 3 hours. That brief generational time allowed them to study 1320 yeast populations over 800 generations using 100 different growth media to create different environments. Environmental changes effectively erased a mutation’s advantage before it could spread through an entire population. In addition, mutations that are beneficial in one environment are usually harmful in another.

In all research, random DNA mutations have not been shown to create new species or higher orders, but they do change and refine existing species. Even with mutations in yeast populations, whether they were beneficial or otherwise, the result was still yeast. The same could be said in other cases, such as dogs or cattle, where we can see mutations resulting in new variations among those animals, but they still remain dogs or cattle.

As we have said before, microevolution does not prove macroevolution. Even if the uncommon mutations are beneficial, they are often lost because they don’t spread through the entire population. Evolution cannot explain the diversity of life on planet Earth.

Reference: msn.com

August 18, 2026August 17, 2026

Octopus Mating Arm

Evolutionary theory assumes that all organisms are related in some way. Yet some life forms have a unique makeup unrelated to any other. One example is the octopus mating arm.

It’s common knowledge that an octopus has eight arms. What is less known is that one of those arms, called the hectocotylus, is the octopus mating arm. The male uses the other seven arms for hunting and exploring, but generally holds the hectocotylus close to his body when not mating. The female octopus has a mantle, a structure behind the eyes that houses all her organs. The male octopus reaches into the female’s mantle and feels around until he finds her ovary. He then slides a sac of sperm down his arm and deposits it.

It’s interesting that the male cannot see what he is doing, so the female helps by secreting enzymes that produce the sex hormone progesterone, which attracts the male octopus mating arm. The octopus is a highly visual animal in every other part of its life, but its reproductive system involves no vision. Each octopus species has its own chemical signature, so there is no interference in the reproductive system from other species.

As we learn about the octopus and its reproductive system, it seems that God has left His signature on this animal, showing that an engineer designed life. No chance explanation can easily account for how octopus reproduction originated. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know there is a God through the things He has made.

Reference: Scientific American, June 2026, pages 16-17.

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026

Trees Are Good for Your Health

Trees are good for your health. That’s the conclusion of various studies, including recent research in Chicago. Over 11 years, researchers analyzed annual satellite measurements of Chicago’s tree canopy and more than 220,000 death records from the health department. They found a correlation between tree canopy coverage and the number of deaths in those neighborhoods. The results were published in the journal GeoHealth in August 2026.

Trees bring us comfort, coolness, and beauty. The study found that in neighborhoods where the tree canopy was shrinking, death rates were climbing, and where the tree canopy was increasing, death rates fell. The researchers noted that you can’t say for certain that losing trees causes more people to die, but it’s interesting that the trends move together.

One reason increased tree canopy could lower summer death tolls is the cooling effect trees provide. In neighborhoods where trees provide more shade, the streets and homes are cooler. But other factors seem to be involved, because, according to the study, year-over-year percentage-point increases in tree canopy were tied to roughly a 10% drop in mortality.

The greatest reduction in health-related deaths was in three areas. Not surprisingly, two of those areas were cardiovascular and respiratory, which could be related to heat. The third area was mental-health-related deaths. What effect can trees have on mental health?

Could it be that the beauty of trees provides a certain amount of mental comfort to ease anxiety? Trees are good for your health, not just physical health. Trees provide shade, but they can also create a soothing, peaceful atmosphere. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air. God has given us trees for many uses, including construction materials, fruits and nuts, and beauty. We could not live without trees.

Reference: livescience.com

August 13, 2026August 10, 2026

Helpless Newborn Babies

Anyone who has raised a child from infancy knows it’s a lot of work over several years and can be exhausting. When humans are born, they are far less developed than virtually any other mammal. Even the great apes are more developed at birth than humans. Helpless newborn babies have weak neck muscles, soft skulls, and underdeveloped brains. These traits change as the human brain becomes far more developed than that of any other animal, including the apes.

Helpless newborn babies require parents to spend much more time holding, caring for, and working with their infants. Why should human babies have soft heads and underdeveloped brains? One factor is the size and shape of the birth canal through which the skull must pass. Of course, the much larger brains that develop later give us the ability to do many things–not just walking upright but also reasoning, creating, and living out the life for which God designed us.

Gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos are born more physically independent than human babies, and they also have less cranial deformity at birth. God must have a reason for requiring humans to be more involved in raising their offspring than other animals and primates. The responsibility of childcare and support is an essential part of becoming a human created in God’s image.

The Bible contains instructions for parents because God has given us a great responsibility. Raising those helpless newborn babies into productive adults is a great challenge for two parents in a solid marriage. It is not up to “the village” or the educational system or social media to bring our children to a point where they can be all that God intends for them to be. Parents can be thankful to God that He has allowed us to help form the next generation. (See Deuteronomy 6:5-7 and Ephesians 6:4.)

August 12, 2026August 10, 2026

QT45 and Origin of Life Research

Researchers at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, have synthesized an RNA polymerase, an enzyme that assembles RNA molecules. RNA is ribonucleic acid, an organic molecule necessary for replicating DNA, which is found in every living cell. QT45 is hailed as a step toward understanding the origin of life, but is it really?

Researchers called this RNA polymerase QT45 because it is “Quite Tiny” and has only 45 organic molecules called nucleotides. Most RNA polymerases have over 150 nucleotides. The researchers proudly point out that this RNA polymerase can replicate itself with “high accuracy.” UK Research and Innovation posted an article titled “Scientists’ chemical breakthrough sheds light on origin of life.” But that may be an exaggeration.

If the origin of life happened by chance without intelligent intervention, then this discovery proves nothing. Creating QT45 required several steps, at least three of which used advanced laboratory techniques. First, the researchers had to generate trillions of random RNA molecules. Then they had to apply eleven rounds of mutation and selection to obtain a few RNAs that could link a growing chain. Then they had to apply seven rounds of selection to improve performance. The bottom line is that this did not happen naturally. Furthermore, it could not have happened naturally.

As reported in Science and Culture in February of 2026, “Such highly specific conditions and highly orchestrated steps do not resemble any environmental conditions that could have ever existed.” Even if such conditions could have happened and QT45 formed naturally, it is still far from being a living cell. Life requires much more than the ability to replicate. It is far from a “chemical breakthrough” that “sheds light on the origins of life.” The origin of life remains a scientific mystery for those who reject the Bible. For more on this issue, use the link below.

Reference: scienceandculture.com

August 11, 2026August 10, 2026

Solar Eclipse Design

On August 12th, 2026, a total solar eclipse will pass over Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain. A partial eclipse will be visible across parts of the northeastern United States just before 2:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time. Within the band where totality is visible, it will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon blocks our view of the Sun. Because of the Moon’s unique size and distance from Earth, its shadow can almost precisely cover the Sun when they align. That precision allows us to briefly see the Sun’s corona, the outer atmosphere that extends millions of miles from the Sun’s surface. Normally, the corona is invisible because the bright light of the Sun’s photosphere, the visible surface, overwhelms it.

During a total solar eclipse, the corona and white streamers extending far from the Sun become visible. At the same time, pink loops, or prominences, can appear around the Moon’s edge. These are giant structures of ionized hydrogen plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface by its magnetic field. I know from experience that witnessing a total solar eclipse is exciti n g. More than that, it’s also an opportunity for scientific investigation. During such an eclipse in 1919, scientists confirmed Einstein’s theory that gravity can bend light.

We earthlings are blessed by the design of the Sun and Moon and their locations, allowing us to witness and be inspired by a total eclipse of the Sun. How can we know exactly when and where a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse will appear and how long it will last? Only because of the design of our solar system. We can see solar eclipses and predict when they will occur because God has created a solar system that is predictable and well organized.

August 10, 2026August 9, 2026

Gender Dysphoria and the Church

A major challenge the Church faces is how to address young people with gender dysphoria. This issue has been complicated by medical experts and counselors who encourage young people to undergo drug treatments and surgeries for gender change. The American Medical Association and the Society of Plastic Surgeons have led the medical establishment in promoting sex-change procedures, and public-school counselors have encouraged primary and secondary students to change their gender identification and pronouns.

The long-term consequences of gender change are becoming more apparent. Males who choose to identify as women have dominated women’s sports. Men and women who have undergone gender-change surgeries are finding, years later, that they made a mistake. Recently, a New York woman sued her psychologist and plastic surgeon and was awarded two million dollars by a jury. She was pressured into a mastectomy at age 16 and put on hormone therapy. As an adult, she realized she wanted to live by her birth gender and was either not told or did not understand the consequences that would arise later in life.

The Bible makes it clear that God created man and woman with distinct gender identities. Undoing what God created is to challenge God and the biblical directives. It is essential for the Church to address gender dysphoria in young people. The cause is psychological and, in most cases, rooted in environmental problems.

The Church is not just a place to worship but a fellowship of Christ followers who must address all human needs. In Matthew 25:34-40, we see Jesus challenging those who want to enter “the kingdom prepared for them since the creation of the world.” Among the things expected of them was to take care of those who were sick. Gender dysphoria is a sickness, and like all of Satan’s attacks, it calls for loving care from His people.

Reference: The Week for February 26, 2026, page 12.

August 6, 2026August 5, 2026

A Reader’s Digest Joke

A Reader’s Digest joke on page 51 of the August/September 2026 issue conveys an important message. The joke goes like this: “An atheist is rowing on Loch Ness in Scotland when the Loch Ness Monster attacks him. The petrified atheist shouts, ‘God, help me!’ And suddenly the monster freezes. A voice from heaven booms, ‘You say you don’t believe in me, but now you ask for my help?’ The atheist shrugs, ‘Well, ten seconds ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness Monster either.’”

Modern-day atheists say they don’t believe in God because they haven’t seen Him and don’t see His activity in the affairs of this world. This ministry exists to show all who will look that there is evidence for God’s existence. Most people who say they don’t believe in God are unwilling to look at the evidence or admit that the Bible is more than just a human creation but came from God.

If you don’t believe in God or have doubts, please go to our website, doesgodexist.tv, and see the evidence demonstrated in the videos. Start with program #1 (don’t just skip around), and watch it. If you have questions, go to jncdge@aol.com or call 269-687-9426 and ask me. If you don’t have questions, go to program #2 and repeat the process. If we don’t have answers (and we certainly don’t have all the answers), we will send your question to someone who does. If you go through all 36 programs, you will see how much evidence there is. You can KNOW there is a God and that the Bible is His Word (Romans 1:20), but like the atheist in the Reader’s Digest joke, you have to look.

August 5, 2026August 4, 2026

The Courage to Help Someone in Need

Americans are a culture of cowards. We should have the courage to help someone in need. What do we feel when we see a homeless person, or someone on a street corner holding a cardboard sign that says, “Need Food”? Of course, some people make a business of begging and have no real need, but we cannot let that fact keep us from doing what Jesus called His followers to do.

Matthew 9:35-36 tells us: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages …healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” What is your reaction to needs? In Michael Clemen’s book Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus, he points out that real Christianity is doing what Jesus would do. James 2:14-26 points out that faith without compassion is useless (verse 20). Our faith must have feet. Going to a building where you sit in a pew once a week is not what being a Christian is about. Clemens calls that “Churchianity.”

Every person we read about in the Bible who was converted to Christ had the courage to help someone in need. In Acts 9, Dorcas was making garments for the needy. In Acts 16, Lydia opened her home for people who needed lodging, including Paul. Throughout the book of Acts, Barnabas was an encourager. Today, the opportunities for service include caring for people who can’t care for themselves, helping care for children, or getting groceries or medicine for a shut-in. If you have the skills, it might be maintaining or repairing a vehicle for someone who can’t afford it. It could even be visiting or using your phone to encourage someone who needs a friend.

A living, dynamic faith is a faith of action. Read James 2:14-26 and be like Christ. Jesus was not a wimp, and neither can His followers be.

August 4, 2026August 3, 2026

God’s Design of the Central Nervous System

One of the great mysteries of science has been the properties of human beings that separate them from all other living things. Pharmacist and pastor Shawn Arstein wrote that modern tools of medical research show that God’s design of the central nervous system “affects mood, motivation, memorization, pain, pleasure, action, response, love, and fear—and it also regulates the heart.” He said the miles of nerve threads that connect body parts from head to toe illustrate how God “is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6).

The fall of Adam and Eve demonstrates how sin affects the central nervous system (CNS), causing neurological instability. In Genesis 3:10, Adam says, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Fear, hiding, and blame-shifting resulted. The story of Cain in Genesis 4:1-12 also shows CNS instability, with anger, murder, denial, being downcast, and panic.

Adam’s rebellion altered his nervous system both physically and spiritually. In Genesis 2:17, God had told Adam, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will certainly die.” What did God mean by that? Adam didn’t drop dead from physical poisoning. The key to understanding this death lies in the term “naked” in verse 25. God’s design of the central nervous system involves myelin surrounding the axons of neurons, insulating them and allowing electrical impulses to pass at a faster rate. According to Arstein, severing the Spirit from the image of God is like leaving the central nervous system stripped of a protective layer, allowing a short in a wire. Adam and Eve looked alive, but the connection with God vanished, making them feel vulnerable in their nakedness. Simultaneously, the knowledge of evil brought anxiety, fear, and chaos. Nakedness demanded a response, and fig leaves provided the first coping strategy for stability.

Because of God’s design of the central nervous system, the fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23 enable humans to battle evil, resulting in changed behavior and stability. Achieving that stability, however, requires effort. Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Seeing God’s design of the central nervous system and how He helps us, as Christians, to walk in the light instead of in darkness (1 John 1) is essential for our growth as children of God.

Reference: godandnatureasa3.org 2026 #2